Rail-joint.



M. L. LEONARD.

4 RAIL JOINT. v APPLICATION FILED OCT. 31, 1911.

Patented Sept. 17, 1912.

WMS/Wmo@ srafrns ritratta ormoni Messner. L. LEONARD, or Nrnaloxnnnome, AssIGNon or ONE-SIXTH 4rro GEO. w. STEPHENS AND ONE-SIXTH To wrLLIAr/r c. BLANCHARD, or NIDA, OKLAHOMA.

RAIL-JOINT. I

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Sept.. 17, 1912.

Application led October 31, 1911. Serial No. 657,752.

Aat the same time allow for thelongitudinal movement due to the expansion and contraction of the rails and also to prevent sagging of the rail ends at the joint.

A further aimis the provision of a rail joint having a locking member' adapted to operatively engage the two track rails and 'secure them in their proper spaced relation .to each Other. l i `A. still further aim 1s to provide anon-4 spreading joint, theconstruction of which is such as to make this class lof devices more practical and efficient land more readily and cheaply manufactured,4 thus tending to make more general' the use of this type of rail joint.

For a full understanding of lthel invention and the merits thereof, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawing, 1n which:

Figurel is a perspective view of a portion ci track, showing the improved joint in 0peration; Fig. 2 is a transverse section through the track and the joint; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the ti`e-spanning`plate and a pprtion of the transverse bar. l

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followin description and indicated in all the views o the drawing by the same reference lcharacters.

The rail joint of this invention includes a locking member adapted to maintain the track rails in their proper spaced relation and 'for the purpose of illustration the complete device is shown in connection with a portion of track in which A designates the' rails and B the ties thereof. Twoadjacent frail @mls meet intermediate the ties vB at the pOIl'C .livhere sagging of the vjoint is pre vented a longitudinally extending plate V 2 Whie'l-iis disposed beneath the rails and lspans thetiesFB, being secured to and suppotted thereby.

. J4ith@ plate 2 carries an upstanding longitudinal rib 5, the inner face of which conforms to and is adapted to engage the outer face of the rails. The plate 2 provides a seat for the rail base and is forme-d with apertures 6 adapted to receive bolts or spikes 7 which engage the rail base, and enter the cross ties Bi The plate 2 is provided at its outer edge with a recess 8 directly opposite the joint 1, said recess being adapted to receive a transverse locking or spacing bar 9 which passes beneath the plates 2 and engages th'e Outer edges of saidplates, there being an upst-anding enlargement 10 on each cessed as at 11 to receive the edge and permit the inner face o-f the enlargement to .bear against the Outer face of the rib 5.

ln order to secure the parts in their assembled posit-ion, the plate 2 and the bar 9 are provided with registering apertures 12 adapted tO receive a tapered locking pin 13..'

It Will befreadily seen that the plate 2,

disposed beneath the joint l, prevents sagy ging of the rails and the subsequent hammering' and pounding of the rail ends since a firm rigid seat is provided on the plate for the rail base. The rib 5 being integral with the plate 2 acts as a lateral stop to the meeting rails and prevents spreading at this point, non-spread=ing being further insured by the bar 9.

The locking pin 13 prevents any move Ament of the plates 2 independently of the bar 9 so that spreading of the rails is positively prevented, there being also.bolts or spikes 14 in the outer portion to further secure the-plates 2 in engagement with the cross ties.

end of theibar, said enlargement being re- Attention is called to the fact that thel rails are capable of longitudinal movement as the spikes 7 co-acting with the rib 5 merely limit the lateral movement of the rails. yIt will further be noted that the construction `of this rail joint eli'ectually prevents the rails from rolling over as they are thoroughly braced in the direction in vwhich .they might roll, by the ribs 5.

As previouslyst-ated, bot-h ends of the bar 9 need vnot necessarily engage plates 2 as where the rail joints are staggered in the parallel rails, one end of the bar might directly engage the rail base intermediate the rail ends. A

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as newvis: 'f

1. The combination with a railroad track,

of plates securedvto and spanning the cross ties beneath the track rails, each plate being formed Witha longitudinal rib adapted to engage Vthe outer face of the adjacent rail,

each plate being recessed at a point interme diate its ends, and a transverse bar provided With -upstanding terminal .enlargements each having a recess, each enlargement being adapted to ft into the recess of the platewith the recess of the enlargement adapted to receive a portion of the plate so that each enlargement engages the rib of the adjacent plate.

v2. VThe combination with a railroad track,

of plates secured to and spanning the cross 15 Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, 1). G. 

